NBA MVP Race Player Rankings: Kevin Durant regaining his powers

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NBA, Kevin Durant Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports /

8. player. 142. . . Previous: 8th. Bradley Beal

Since last rank – 37.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 6.0 APG, Shooting splits: .549/.375/.929

Bradley Beal only played two games for the Washington Wizards thanks to COVID contact tracing since our last ranking, but he put up numbers in both of them and increased his NBA scoring lead to 5.5 over second-place Kevin Durant. Beal is now up to 34.9 points per game and blowing away his previous career bests.

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The Wizards may find themselves missing a rash of games, so it’s hard to say what Beal’s immediate future will be on this ranking, but you can’t overlook the astonishing scoring numbers he’s producing right now.

34. . . Previous: . Damian Lillard. 7. player

Since last rank – 29.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 7.8 APG, Shooting splits: .487/.425/.966

After a slow start, Damian Lillard is absolutely sizzling for the Portland Trail Blazers over the past week. He’s not putting up one of his patented 50-plus point runs, but he’s doing everything and more that’s asked of him. Most importantly, his Blazers have won all four games over the last ranking period, and that’s got to be a relief for this team after having lost three of the previous four.

Damian Lillard is a virtual lock to remain on or near this list all season, assuming no injuries or COVID issues arise to complicate matters.